Flavorful low-fat cheese

ABSTRACT

The invention provides flavorful low-fat cheeses that are readily and inexpensively made from high-fat cheeses.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/307,953,filed Jul. 26, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention relates to methods for making low-fat cheese thatare simpler than currently available methods and that reliably provide alow-fat cheese that has excellent flavor and texture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Cheddar cheese aging and flavor development is a naturalbiological and chemical process that occurs spontaneously. However,characterizing the chemistry of Cheddar cheese flavor has been one themost difficult and elusive activities in dairy chemistry. Even today, nosingle signature compound has been identified and characterized as thekey component of aged Cheddar flavor. Lipolysis plays a prominent rolein flavor development of Italian hard cheeses. However, in aged Cheddarcheese the contribution of degradation products from fatty acids isthought to play only a minor role. McGugan et al. (1979) concluded thatvolatile compounds (both fat and water soluble) may play an importantrole in the subtle aspects of Cheddar flavor quality, while flavorintensity is provided by the water soluble fraction of Cheddar cheese. Avariety of chemical compounds (e.g., methanethiol, a variety of othervolatile sulfur containing compounds, individual amino acids, smallpeptides, etc.) have been identified as contributors to aged Cheddarflavor, but no simple formulation exists for reproducibly makingflavorful Cheddar cheese.

[0004] The current technology used to manufacture low fat Cheddar cheeseaccomplishes fat reduction by removing fat from the milk prior to cheesemaking. This method is simple and it accomplishes the goal of reducingthe fat content of the cheese. However, there are many limitations tothis approach with respect to the quality characteristics of the lowerfat Cheddar cheese. When fat content is reduced, Kosikowski and Mistry(1997) have observed that “the environment for starter culture growth isconsiderably different in low fat cheeses than in full fat cheeses dueto changes in composition and, in particular, to the increase inmoisture. As a result if starter cultures are not selected with care,the cheese maker may be faced with improper flavor development andevolution of flavor such as bitterness . . . . In addition, moisturecontrol is critical in low fat cheese.” Lower fat Cheddar cheeses tendto be excessively hard and sometimes rubbery in texture. Variousapproaches to manufacturing, such as using a lower cooking temperature,water rinses of the cheese curd after draining the whey, etc. have beenused to achieve an acceptable moisture content in low fat Cheddar. Thebody of low fat Cheddar cheese does not break down during aging as wellas it does for full fat Cheddar. Thus, it is very difficult to meetconsumer expectations for flavor in an aged lower fat Cheddar cheese.

[0005] Current low-fat cheese manufacturing procedures are alsocumbersome. For example, when the cheese maker is faced with making onethird reduced fat, one half reduced fat, and full fat Cheddar in thesame day, three different cheese-making procedures must be used. Themilk for each type of cheese must be differently standardized, thecheese maker needs to use a different starter culture for the low fatversus the full fat Cheddar, and the times and temperatures of themanufacturing procedures will be different. Changes in manufacturingprocedure within a day increase the chances of errors during cheesemaking and decrease the efficiency of cheese manufacturing in largemodem Cheddar cheese factories. In addition, after the three differenttypes of cheese are packed into 640 pound boxes, the degree of drainageof each type of cheese is different resulting in different finaldimensions of the large blocks of cheese. In an automated cut and wrapoperation, the variation in size (i.e., height) of 640 pound blocksamong Cheddar cheeses with different fat contents causes higher trimloss during cutting, because the cutting systems are designed to handlethe exact size of full fat Cheddar. Trim loss during cutting of full fatCheddar can range from 5 to 10% in 640 pound blocks. When low fatCheddar is cut from 640 pound blocks, the trim loss can be easily doublethe amount of that in full fat Cheddar because the dimensions of theblock are not matched to the size of cutting equipment. As a result, aconsiderable amount of research effort is being directed toward thedevelopment of methods (including the use of genetically modifiedcultures) that will produce more typical Cheddar flavors when used inlow fat Cheddar cheese production.

[0006] When Cheddar cheese is being aged, there is often a need to holdcheese longer because of variation in market demand and seasonalvariation in production of the cheese. Thus, it is sometimes desirableto continue to age cheese in inventory until the market demand calls forthe product. Continued aging of full fat Cheddar cheese is not a problembecause the quality will be excellent over a fairly long period of time.Unfortunately, this is not true for lower fat Cheddar cheeses. A lowerfat Cheddar cheese may reach a good flavor in 4 months, but by 8 monthsit can develop off-flavors. Thus, the window of time during which lowfat Cheddar can be used is narrower than that for full fat Cheddarcheese. When inventories of lower fat Cheddar cheese are high, defectscan develop and, to avoid severe quality defects, the cheese maker mayhave to divert some low fat Cheddar cheese to make processed cheese.Thus, producing the correct amount of lower fat Cheddar cheese to meet,but not to exceed, future market demands is problematic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides a new approach to making low fatcheese that involves removing fat or butter oil from full fat cheeseafter the cheese is aged. Thus, the present invention involves a methodfor making a flavorful low-fat cheese that includes shredding a full fatcheese at a low temperature, warming the cheese, removing 1-90% of fatto generate a flavorful low-fat cheese. Additional steps can also beemployed, including blending the low-fat cheese to a uniform texture,pressing the low-fat cheese into a block, and cooling. In a preferredembodiment, a low-fat Cheddar cheese is made by the present methods.

[0008] Manufacturing of fresh low-fat cheese by the present methods isgreatly simplified. Only one cheese making unit, starter culture, andcoagulation technique is needed. All cheese is aged for the same timeand under the same temperature conditions. No separate aging rooms andtemperatures for cheeses of different fat content are needed. Becauseproduction of lower fat cheeses is a conversion process, it can be doneat the packaging location. The low fat cheese can be made from thetrimmed cheese produced during packaging of full fat aged block cheese,or it could be made directly by grinding block cheese. Moreover, theconversion of full fat trim to premium quality lower fat cheese can be ahigher value utilization of the trim than would be its use in processedcheese. The amount of lower fat cheese produced can also be adjusted tothe short term market demand because, once the cheese is converted tothe lower fat level, it is immediately placed in a consumer sizepackage, and can be delivered directly to market with no further aging.The current moisture control problems of lower fat cheeses are solved bythe present methods: after a portion of the fat is physically removedfrom the cheese, water can be added (and possibly other ingredients) tobring the moisture, salt, and pH directly to the desired target level.Thus, the consistency and accuracy in composition control of the lowerfat cheeses produced by the present processes would be much better thanis currently available using today's technology.

[0009] All levels of fat reduced cheese can be produced from the samebatch of aged cheese. The processing conditions (e.g., grinding,temperature, fat removal step, water addition step, etc.) can beadjusted to make a range of cheeses with different fat and moisturecontents. This ability to quickly adjust the type of cheese producedprovides tremendous flexibility and permits the inventory of varioustypes of lower fat cheeses to be controlled as needed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0010]FIG. 1 illustrates the amount of fat removed from full-fat Cheddarcheese at different temperatures as a function of centrifugal force.Centrifugation time was held constant at 5 minutes. Cheese warmed to 30°C. (♦) was compared to cheese warmed to 25° C. (▪) and to 20° C. (▴).The amount of fat removed increased somewhat as the centrifugal forceused to separate the butter oil from the cheese was increased.

[0011]FIG. 2 illustrates the amount of fat removed from full-fat Cheddarcheese at different temperatures as a function of centrifugation time.Centrifugation force was 23,500×g throughout. The percentage fat removalfrom full-fat Cheddar cheese warmed to 30° C. (♦) was compared to thepercentage fat removal from Cheddar cheese warmed to 25° C. (▪) and to20° C. (▴). The amount of fat removed increased somewhat as the time ofcentrifugation used to separate the butter oil from the cheese wasincreased.

[0012]FIG. 3 illustrates the effect of cheese temperature on fatremoval. The optimal line plotted for these data is y=4.1(temperature)−73.9, indicating that the amount of fat removed from afull-fat cheese (y) has a linear relationship with the temperature towhich the cheese is warmed. As illustrated, the temperature of cheesehas a strong effect on the amount of fat removed during centrifugation.

[0013]FIG. 4 provides a scale of the flavor intensity reported by ninepanelists for full-fat Cheddar cheese versus 50% reduced-fat Cheddarcheese. Panelists were asked to compare the flavor intensity of full fatcommercial Cheddar cheese with 50% reduced fat Cheddar cheese made fromthe full fat cheese according to the present invention. Three varietiesof full fat cheese were tested and used for making three varieties of50% reduced fat cheeses that were also tested: very mild Cheddar cheese,sharp Cheddar cheese and extra sharp Cheddar cheese. As illustrated,panelists were given a 10 cm line on which to rate the flavor intensityof the cheeses that was labeled with “None,” “Moderate,” and “Extreme”to indicate the degree of flavor intensity for the various cheeses. Asillustrated, the three varieties of full fat Cheddar cheese and 50%reduced fat Cheddar cheeses were rated similarly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention provides a method for making a flavorfullow-fat cheese that includes grinding or shredding a cheese at a lowtemperature, warming the cheese, and removing 1-90% of fat to generate aflavorful low-fat cheese. In one embodiment, a block of cheese isshredded at 2° C. to 10° C., the shredded cheese is warmed to 22° C. to42° C., the warm cheese is centrifuged to separate fat from the warmcheese, and the fat is removed to provide a reduced fat cheese. Thereduced fat cheese can also be blended to a uniform texture, pressedinto a block, and cooled.

[0015] Low-fat cheeses made by the present methods retain the taste andtexture of the full-fat cheese from which they were made because themajority of the aged cheese flavor intensity resides in thewater-soluble fraction of cheese. The intensity of cheese flavor resultsprimarily from the action of enzymes, starter organisms, and nonstarterculture bacteria on intact casein and the degradation products of caseinand amino acids. Aston and Creamer (1986) have reported that asub-fraction of the water-soluble fraction containing most of the salt,free methionine, and free leucine contributed the most to the flavor ofthe water soluble fraction.

[0016] The texture of cheese changes progressively during aging. Most ofthe texture change in Cheddar cheese is due to the proteolytic breakdownof the casein matrix and possibly to changes in casein-water-calciuminteractions as a function of aging. Full fat Cheddar texture starts outrubbery and corky, but rapidly changes to a softer more smooth textureas proteolysis continues during aging. When low fat Cheddar cheese isproduced from milk that has been reduced in fat content, the initialtexture of the lower fat Cheddar is generally more hard and rubbery thanfull fat Cheddar.

[0017] Development of the soft texture typical of aged full fat Cheddardoes not always proceed as desired when making low fat Cheddar cheese byprocedures previously available in the art. This may be due todifferences in ratio of components within the low fat Cheddar ascompared to full fat Cheddar. However, these problems do not arise whenusing the methods of the invention. Conversion of full fat Cheddar tolower fat Cheddar as provided by this invention is done by using fullfat Cheddar that has already developed a normal body and texture as astarting point. The texture of lower fat Cheddar made by the proceduresof the invention is more smooth and dissipates even more quickly in themouth than the full fat Cheddar from which it was made.

[0018] Types of Cheese

[0019] All types of low-fat cheese can be made by the present methods.For example, low-fat American, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, mozzarella,Muenster, Swiss, and the like can be made by the present methods. In apreferred embodiment, all types of low-fat Cheddar cheese are made bythe present methods.

[0020] Grinding the Cheese

[0021] The cheese can be ground up or shredded using any availablemethod known to one of skill in the art. For example, Waring-styleblenders, meat grinders similar to those used to grind hamburger, foodprocessors and the like can be used to grind or shred the cheese.Grinding and shredding can yield somewhat differently sized cheesegranules. However, one of skill in the art can readily adapt thegrinding or shredding apparatus to yield the appropriately sized cheesegranules.

[0022] The size of cheese granules produced by shredding or grinding caninfluence the speed at which fat (butter oil) is released from thecheese. Hence, the cheese is ground to a size sufficient for readyremoval of the fat. For example, the cheese is ground or shredded to asize of about 1 mm to about 10 mm in width or diameter. Preferably thecheese is ground or shredded to a size of about 2 mm to about 6 mm inwidth or diameter, and more preferably the cheese is ground or shreddedto a size of about 3 mm to about 5 mm in width or diameter.

[0023] The cheese is ground or shredded at a sufficiently lowtemperature to keep the cheese granules intact and to prevent smearingand melting of the cheese as it is ground or shredded. Such atemperature is about 1° C. to about 15° C., preferably about 2° C. toabout 10° C. and more preferably about 3° C. to about 7° C. The mostpreferred temperature for shredding or grinding the cheese is about 4°C. to about 6° C.

[0024] Warming the Cheese

[0025] The cheese is warmed for a time and to a temperature that issufficient to release and to permit separation of the desired amount offat. A sufficient warming time is the time required to uniformly warmthe cheese to the chosen temperature. Such a time varies with the amountof cheese to be warmed and can readily be determined by one of skill inthe art.

[0026] The temperature employed can vary depending on the amount of fatto be removed and the procedure used to remove the fat. For example,when the fat is removed by centrifugation, a lower temperature may beused than when the fat is simply decanted or skimmed off. One of skillin the art can readily establish the appropriate temperature to softenthe cheese and release the desired amount of fat using a chosen methodfor fat separation. For example, fat can be removed from cheese afterwarming the cheese to about 20° C. to about 42° C., with more fatremoved as the temperature increases. In general, the warmingtemperature is preferably below about 37° C. and above about 20° C., butthis can vary depending upon the size of cheese granule and theprocedure used for removing fat. In one experiment, about 55% to 65% offat was removed when the cheese was warmed to about 32° C. but onlyabout 18% to 23% of fat was removed when the cheese was warmed to about22° C. The approximate amount of fat removed from a Cheddar cheesevaries linearly with the temperature according to the following formula:Fat Removed=4.1 (temperature)−73.9. Further guidance on the selection ofan appropriate temperature is provided by the Examples.

[0027] Fat Separation

[0028] Any method available to one of skill in the art for separatingliquid fat or butter oil from a solid or semi-solid material can be usedto remove the fat from cheese after it has been warmed to the selectedtemperature. For example, butter oil can be removed by centrifugation,absorption, draining the cheese and other available procedures. In apreferred embodiment, fat is separated from the warmed cheese bycentrifugation. During centrifugation, the cheese will sediment, whilethe melted fat or butter oil will form a liquid layer on top of thecheese that can readily be decanted. According to the present invention,increasing centrifugation forces will release somewhat more fat orbutter oil from the warmed cheese, however, the temperature of thewarmed cheese is a more powerful determiner of the amount of fatremoved.

[0029] One of skill in the art can readily determine the necessarycentrifugal force for removing the desired amount of fat or butter oil.In one experiment, the present inventors observed that the amount of fatremoved from cheese warmed to about 30° C. increased from about 38% whenthe centrifugal force was about 2000×g, to about 48% when thecentrifugal force was about 23,000×g. However, warming the cheese fromabout 25° C. to about 30° C. increased the amount of fat removed by over20%. In general, a centrifugal force of about 1000×g to about 30,000×gis used. Preferably, the centrifugal force is about 5000×g to about25,000×g.

[0030] Similarly, increasing the time of centrifugation will increasethe amount of fat removed, but the temperature is still a largerdeterminant of the amount of fat removed. For example, increasing thetime of centrifugation from about 5 minutes to about 20 minutesincreased the amount of fat removed by about 10% for cheese warmed toabout 25° C. to about 30° C. Accordingly, one of skill in the art canadjust the size of cheese granules, the warming temperature and the fatseparation method to produce a low-fat cheese with the desired amount offat.

[0031] The Examples section also provides further guidance on theconditions that can be used for removing fat from cheese.

[0032] Additional Steps

[0033] Additional steps can also be employed including blending thelow-fat cheese to a uniform texture, pressing the low-fat cheese into ablock, and cooling.

EXAMPLE 1 Preliminary Experiments on Mozzarella Cheese

[0034] Water was removed from Mozzarella cheese during the first twoweeks of refrigerated storage by grinding, warming, and centrifuging thecheese to remove water. After about 10 to 12 days, water could no longerbe removed from the cheese by centrifugation at 25° C. However, as theMozzarella cheese got older, an increasing amount of fat could beremoved. Aged Cheddar cheese was used to further develop a method forphysically removing fat to produce reduced fat aged Cheddar cheeses.

EXAMPLE 2 Preliminary Experiments on Cheddar Cheese

[0035] Test batches of lower fat Cheddar cheese containing about 25 to60% less fat were made by removing butter oil from both commercial anduniversity produced full fat aged Cheddar cheese. In general, about 25%of the fat was removed from aged Cheddar cheese by warming the cheese toabout 22° C. and centrifuging it at about 24,000 g for 20 minutes.Twenty minutes of centrifugation is probably longer than what was neededunder the shredding and warming conditions used. At a warmingtemperature of about 30° C., a significant amount of butter oil hadalready leaked out of the cheese before centrifugation, and about 50% offat could be removed after centrifugation. At 37° C., a 62% fatreduction was achieved.

[0036] Starting with an aged Cheddar cheese of about 34% fat and 36.5%moisture, fat separation at 30° C. resulted in a final composition of16% fat and 45.6% moisture. When fat is removed, it is normal for thepercentage of both moisture and protein to increase. If water is addedto the product before it is formed into a block, the moisture contentcan be increased up to a constant target level (e.g., 50%) to helpcontrol consistency of flavor and texture quality.

[0037] Table 1 (below) provides the fatty acid composition and weightper 28 gram serving of an original full fat Cheddar cheese and thelower-fat cheese produced from it. TABLE 1 Fat Content of Cheese FattyFull Fat Full Fat Lower Fat Lower Acid (grams) (%) (grams) Fat (%) C 40.198  2.17 0.102  2.24 C 6 0.166  1.80 0.085  1.87 C 8 0.106  1.150.055  1.21 C 10 0.248  2.68 0.123  2.71 C 12 0.290  3.14 0.143  3.15 C14 0.997  10.79 0.518  11.41 C 14:1 0.232  2.51 0.110  2.42 C 16 2.593 28.07 1.390  30.62 C 16:1 0.288  3.12 0.133  2.93 C 18 1.447  15.670.809  17.82 C 18:1 2.521  27.29 1.065  23.46 C 18:2 0.151  1.63 0.007 0.15 Total 9.237 g 100% 4.540 g 100%

[0038] As seen in Table 1, the fat content of the cheese was reduced byabout 50.8% when using the methods provided herein. The proportion ofeach fatty acid type varied a little between the full-fat and lower-fatcheese. For example, the relative proportion of C 18:2 decreased in from1.63% in the full fat cheese to 0.15% in the lower-fat cheese. Theamount of C 18:1 decreased from 27.29% in the full-fat cheese to 23.46%in the lower fat cheese.

[0039] These data on fatty acid composition indicate that the fatty acidcomposition of the butter oil removed from the cheese does not differgreatly from that of milk fat. However, the butter oil produced by thismethod may have a lower melting temperature than the melting temperatureof total milk fat. These data suggest that the butter oil produced bythis method has utility as a component of products such as butter, oil,sauces, etc.

EXAMPLE 3 Temperature Influences Fat Removal Materials and Methods

[0040] Commercial aged Sharp Cheddar cheese was used as a startingmaterial. The cheese was shredded to a diameter of about 4 mm at atemperature of about 4 to 6° C. After shredding, the cheese was warmedto a temperature between 20° C. and 37° C. A Sorval centrifuge with aGSA centrifuge head and a 250 ml capacity screw cap centrifuge tubeswere used for separating the butter oil from the bulk of the cheese. Thecentrifugal force was varied from 800 to 24,000×g for times ranging from5 to 25 minutes to test for the effect of centrifugal force and durationon butter oil removal. The butter oil was decanted from the centrifugetubes. The lower layer of reduced fat cheese solids was removed, blendedto make it homogeneous, adjusted to various target moisture levels(e.g., 48%, 50%, 52%, etc.) and pressed into small blocks (about 2.5lbs).

[0041] Results

[0042]FIG. 1 illustrates the amount of fat removed at differenttemperatures as a function of centrifugal force. Centrifugation time washeld constant at 5 minutes. As shown, when the cheese is warmed to 30°C. (♦) the amount of fat removed varies from about 38% to about 48%,depending upon the centrifugal force used to separate the butter oilfrom the cheese. When the cheese is warmed to 25° C. (▪) the amount offat removed varies from about 12% to about 24%, depending upon thecentrifugal force used to separate the butter oil from the cheese.Finally, when the cheese is warmed to only 20° C. (▴) the amount of fatremoved varies from only about 2% to about 8%, depending upon thecentrifugal force used to separate the butter oil from the cheese.

[0043]FIG. 2 illustrates the amount of fat removed at differenttemperatures as a function of centrifugation time. Centrifugation forcewas 23,500×g throughout. As shown, when the cheese is warmed to 30° C.(♦) the amount of fat removed varies from about 48% to about 58%,depending upon the time of centrifugation used to separate the butteroil from the cheese. When the cheese is warmed to 25° C. (▪) the amountof fat removed varies from about 24% to about 34%, depending upon thetime of centrifugation used to separate the butter oil from the cheese.Finally, when the cheese is warmed to only 20° C. (▴) the amount of fatremoved varies from about 7% to about 12%, depending upon the time ofcentrifugation used to separate the butter oil from the cheese.

[0044]FIG. 3 shows a graph illustrating the effect of temperature on fatremoval.

[0045] Table 2 provides a comparison of the composition of a full-fatcheese with the 53% reduced fat cheese produced therefrom. TABLE 2Full-Fat and Low-Fat Cheese Composition Cheese Type Fat (%) Moisture (%)Protein (%) Salt (%) pH Full-Fat 34.0 36.6 25.0 1.74 5.15 Low-Fat 16.045.6 32.0 2.21 5.13

EXAMPLE 4 Low-Fat Cheese Flavor Intensity

[0046] Panelists were asked to compare the flavor intensity of full fatcommercial Cheddar cheese with 50% reduced fat Cheddar cheese made fromthe full fat cheese according to the present invention. Three varietiesof full fat cheese were tested and used for making three varieties of50% reduced fat cheeses that were also tested: very mild Cheddar cheese,sharp Cheddar cheese and extra sharp Cheddar cheese. Panelists weregiven a 10 cm line on which to rate the flavor intensity of the cheesesthat was labeled with “None,” “Moderate,” and “Extreme” to indicate thedegree of flavor intensity for the various cheeses. The three varietiesof full fat Cheddar cheese and 50% reduced fat Cheddar cheeses wererated as shown in FIG. 4. A statistical analysis of the differences inflavor ratings by the panelists indicates that there is no statisticallysignificant difference in flavor intensity between the full-fat andreduced-fat cheese produced therefrom (Table 3). TABLE 3 StatisticalAnalysis of Flavor Intensity Data. Source DF Sum of Squares p-valueModel (R2 = 0.6988) 16 168.93 0.0215 Cheese Type  2 110.06 <0.0001Panelist (random) 11 53.81 0.0567 Panelist*Cheese Type 22 49.14 0.7213Fat (Cheese Type) (fixed)  3 5.07 0.6241 Error 55 93.99 Total 71 312.06

REFERENCES

[0047] These references are incorporated by reference.

[0048] 1. Kosikowsik, F. K. and V. V. Mistry, Low fat and specialtycheeses, in Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods, Chapter 23 (1997)(F. V.Kosikowski, L.L.C., 1 Peters Lane, Westport, Conn.).

[0049] 2. McGugan, W. A., D. B. Emmons, and E. Larmond, Influence ofVolatile and Nonvolatile Fractions on Intensity of Cheddar Flavor, 62 J.Dairy Sci. 398-403 (1979).

[0050] 3. Rank, T. C., R. Grappin, and N. F. Olson, SecondaryProteolysis of Cheese During Ripening: A Review, 68 J. Dairy Sci.801-805 (1985).

[0051] 4. Aston, J. W., and L. K. Creamer, Contribution of theComponents of the Water-soluble Fraction to the Flavor of CheddarCheese, 21 New Zealand J. of Dairy Sci. 229-248 (1986).

[0052] 5. Lawrence, R. C., L. K. Creamer, and J. Gilies, TextureDevelopment During Cheese Ripening, 70 J. Dairy Sci.1748-1760 (1987).

What is claimed:
 1. A method for making a flavorful low-fat cheese thatcomprises: (a) shredding a cheese at a temperature of about 1° C. toabout 15° C. to produce a shredded cheese; (b) warming the shreddedcheese to temperature of about 20° C. to about 42° C. to produce awarmed cheese; and (c) removing about 1% to about 90% of fat from thewarmed cheese to generate a flavorful low-fat cheese.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the shredded cheese comprises cheese granules of about 1mm to about 10 mm in diameter.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein theshredded cheese comprises cheese granules of about 2 mm to about 6 mm indiameter.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the shredded cheese is warmedto a temperature of about 20° C. to about 37° C.
 5. The method of claim1 wherein the fat is removed from the warmed cheese by centrifugation.6. The method of claim 5 wherein the centrifugation provides acentrifugal force of about 1000×g to about 30,000×g.
 7. The method ofclaim 5 wherein the centrifugation provides a centrifugal force of about5000×g to about 25,000×g.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the flavorfullow-fat cheese is blended and pressed into a block before cooling. 9.The method of claim 1 wherein the low-fat cheese is flavorful in thatits flavor is similar to the high fat cheese from which it was derived.10. A method for making a flavorful low-fat cheese that comprises: (a)shredding a cheese at a temperature of about 4° C. to about 6° C. toproduce a shredded cheese; (b) warming the cheese to temperature ofabout 20° C. to about 40° C. to produce a warmed cheese; and (c)removing about 1% to about 90% of fat from the warmed cheese to generatea flavorful low-fat cheese.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein theshredded cheese comprises cheese granules of about 1 mm to about 10 mmin diameter.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the shredded cheesecomprises cheese granules of about 2 mm to about 6 mm in diameter. 13.The method of claim 10 wherein the shredded cheese is warmed to atemperature of about 20° C. to about 37° C.
 14. The method of claim 10wherein the fat is removed from the warmed cheese by centrifugation. 15.The method of claim 14 wherein the centrifugation provides a centrifugalforce of about 1000×g to about 30,000×g.
 16. The method of claim 14wherein the centrifugation provides a centrifugal force of about 5000×gto about 25,000×g.
 17. The method of claim 10 wherein the flavorfullow-fat cheese is blended and pressed into a block before cooling. 18.The method of claim 10 wherein the low-fat cheese is flavorful in thatits flavor is similar to the high fat cheese from which it was derived.